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A Trap/v5) United States Patent Ofifice 3,294,279 Patented Dec. 27, 1966 3,294,279 END LOADING BEER BOX John W. Kidd, Lamheth, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Canadian International Paper Company, Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Canada Filed Mar. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 436,931 4 Claims. (Cl. 2201t5) This invention relates to article carriers and, more particularly, to a carrier adapted to carry articles, such as bottles or cans, arranged in two rows, and to be carried manually.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a carrier which is formed from a flat one-piece blank which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

A further object is to provide a carrier adapted to be end loaded.

Another object is to provide a carrier adapted to be opened from the top.

A further object is to provide a carrier having a carrying handle.

Another object is to provide a carrying handle which is formed from a flat one-piece blank which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

A further object is to provide a carrier having means to slidably retain a carrying handle in a carrier and to divide the interior of the carrier into two substantially equal parts.

Another object is to provide a handle retaining and carrier dividing member which is formed from a flat one-piece blank which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the following description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which a carrier of the present invention is made;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank from which a carrier dividing and handle retaining member of the present invention is made;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a blank from which a handle of the present invention is made;

FIG. 4 isa perspective view (with parts broken away) of the carrier formed from the blank of FIG. 1, in its collapsed condition, and showing parts of the handle formed from the blank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective sectional view (with parts broken away) of the carrier of FIG. 4 taken across its midportion and showing the carrier in its squared and fully assembled condition with the handle in its inoperative retracted position; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective sectional view (with parts broken away) showing the carrier of FIG. 5 with the handle in its operative extended position.

The carrier C, shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, is formed from a fiat one-piece blank 1 (FIG. 1) cut from suitable sheet material, preferably corrugated paperboard. It can also be constructed from lighter or heavier materials, depending upon the requirements of the carrier.

The blank 1 has longitudinal fold lines 2, transverse fold lines 3, and slits 4 which define and hingedly connect parts including a bottom 5, side panels 6 and 7, a top 8, end closure fiaps 9 and an attaching flap 10, for forming a manufacturers joint when the carrier is formed from the blank 1.

The top 8 is provided with means defining a handle receiving opening 11, in the form of an elongated slot 19, to accommodate portions of the handle, and means defining a handle access opening 12, of substantially circular configuration, to enable the user to grasp the handle so tive position.

The top 8 is further provided with tear means including tear initiating means, in the form of circular openings 13, a longitudinal line of weakness 14 which extends across the center of the top, and transverse lines of weakness 15 which extend along the side edges of the top, all interconnected, for a purpose further to be described.

Referring to FIG. 2, the means to divide the interior of the carrier C into two substantially equal parts and to separate the two rows of cans or bottles from each other and to further slidably retain the handle in the carrier is formed from a flat one-piece blank 20 cut from suitable sheet material, preferably corrugated paperboard of the type used in forming the carrier C.

The blank 20 has longitudinal fold lines 21 which define and hingedly connect first and second handle retaining and carrier dividing panels 22 and 23 and an attaching flap 24 and is provided with means defining a handle receiving opening 25, along the fold line 21a, in the form of an elongated slot 29, which is adapted to mate, or be aligned, with the handle receiving opening 11 in the carrier C to accommodate portions of the handle, in a manner further to be described. Means is also provided to define a handle access opening 26, of substantially circular configuration, which cooperates with the handle access opening 12 in the carrier C to enable the user to grasp the handle. It should be noted that the second panel 23 is larger than the first panel 22 by a distance sufl-l-cient to enable the second panel to extend substantially from the bottom panel 5 in the carrier C to within a relatively short distance from the underside of the top 8, for reasons further to be explained.

The handle H, shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, is formed from a fiat one-piece blank 30 (FIG. 3) cut from suitable sheet material, preferably corrugated paperboard of the type used in forming the carrier C and blank 20.

The blank 30 has a longitudinal fold line 31 and substantially square-shaped cut-out portions 32 which define and hingedly connect first and second handle sections 33 and 34. Each of the handle sections 33 and 34 consists of an upper portion 39 and handle retaining portions 35 and is provided with means defining a hand opening 36 in the upper portion thereof with a tab 37 attached thereto along a horizontal fold line 38, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3. It should be observed that the handle retaining portions 35 are of greater width than the openings 11 and 25, for a purpose further to be described.

The handle H may be formed from the blank of FIG. 3 by folding the first and second handle sections 33 and 34, along the fold line 31, and into abutting contact with each other and by gluing them together, by appropriate glue zones (not shown).

After it is formed, the handle H is positioned between the handle retaining panels 22 and 23 and there slidably retained with upper portions 39 of the handle being received in the handle receiving opening 25, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. This is accomplished by folding the first and second panels 22 and 23 of the blank of FIG. 2, along the fold line 21a, and around the handle H, with lower portions 40 of the panels 22 and 23 in abutting contact with each other, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and by securing such lower portions together by zones of glue (not shown).

The handle H, thus slidably retained within the retaining panels 22 and 23, is then positioned upon the blank 1 and the attaching flap 24 is secured to the bottom 5 by an appropriate means, such as glue (not shown).

The carrier C, with the attaching flap 24 secured to the bottom '5 and with the handle H slidably retained within the retaining panel 22 and 23, may be formed from the blank of FIG. 1 by folding the parts into the relationships shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 and by gluing the attaching flap 10 to the side panel 6. The carrier C may be shipped to the user in its collapsed condition, as shown in FIG. 4, and later fully erected, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, to receive the articles it is to carry.

The carrier C may be loaded with cans or bottles by erecting or aligning the carrier dividing panels 22 and 23 of the carrier dividing and handle retaining member so that they are substantially perpendicular to the bottom 5 and by loading the cans or bottles into it through either or both of its open ends and on opposite sides of the dividing panels; after which the end flaps 9 are folded perpendicularly to the side panels 6 and 7 and top 8 and bottom 5, Where they are secured in place by glue (not shown).

To lift the carrier, the carrying handle H may be moved from its inoperative position, as shown in FIG. 5, to its operative position, as shown in FIG. 6, by grasping the handle, through the aligned handle access openings 12 and 26, by the thumb and forefinger, and by pulling it upwardly, through handle receiving openings 11 and 25, from its retracted position to its extended position. As has been explained, the width of the handle retaining portions 35 is greater than the width of the handle receiving Openings 11 and 25. Therefore, in its extended operative position, the upper shoulders 42 of the handle retaining portions 35 of the handle contact upper portions of the handle retaining member along the fold line 21a thereby retaining the handle within the handle retaining member and spaced a relatively short distance from the underside of the top 8 and directly beneath the line of weakness 14. It is important to note that if the handle were not so spaced from the top 5, when carrying the carrier by the handle the top would tend to be torn away along this line of weakness, by the contact of the handle and under the weight of the full articles being carried.

To open the carrier, the fingers may be inserted in the openings 13 and the top 5 torn away along the lines of weakness 14 and 15. If desired, further appropriate lines of weakness may be provided to enable the entire top 5 to be torn away.

It is, then, a simple matter to remove the full bottles or cans from the carrier C and to return the empty bottles or cans to the carrier and, since the handle retaining member and not the top 5 retains the handle H in the carrier, to carry the carrier, even with its top torn away, by such handle.

What is claimed is:

1. A carrier, said carrier including a bottom, side panels and a top, said top having means defining handle receiving opening therein, a handle slidably retained within said carrier, a handle retaining and carrier dividing member secured to said carrier and within said carrier with its top portions adjacent to and spaced from the underside of said top, said top including a structurally weakened portion, said handle retaining member including means preventing said slidable handle from coming into direct contact with said structurally weakened portion, said handle being slidably retained within said member, said member having means defining a handle receiving opening therein in alignment with said handle receiving opening in said carrier and said handle having portions extending through said openings in said carrier and said member, said handle being movable through said openings from an inoperative position to an operative position, wherein said top has tear means including a longitudinal line of weakness and transverse lines of weakness, said longitudinal line of weakness extending across the center of said top, said transverse lines of weakness extending along the side edges of said top, said longitudinal line of weakness and said transverse lines of weakness being connected to each other and said handle-retaining portions being spaced from the underside of said top and directly beneath said longitudinal line of weakness.

2. In the carrier of claim 1, said member consisting of first and second handle retaining and carrier dividing panels and an attaching panel and said attaching panel being secured to said bottom of said carrier.

3. In the carrier of claim 1, said handle including top portions and handle retaining portions, the top portions of said handle extending through said openings in said carrier and said member and said retaining members having a width greater than said openings thereby retaining said handle in said member.

4. In combination, the carrier as set forth in claim 1 and a plurality of articles arranged in two rows packed therein, and-in which said article separating panels separate the said two rows of articles from each other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,984,402 5/1961 Putnam 220 X 3,202,312 8/1965 Atkinson 220105 FOREIGN PATENTS 896,95 7 5/ 1962 Great Britain.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARRIER, SAID CARRIER INCLUDING A BOTTOM, SIDE PANELS AND A TOP, SAID TOP HAVING MEANS DEFINING HANDLE RECEIVING OPENING THEREIN, A HANDLE SLIDABLY RETAINED WITHIN SAID CARRIER, A HANDLE RETAINING AND CARRIER DIVIDING MEMBER SECURED TO SAID CARRIER AND WITHIN SAID CARRIER WITH ITS TOP PORTIONS ADJACENT TO AND SPACED FROM THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TOP, SAID TOP INCLUDING A STRUCTURALLY WEAKENED PORTION, SAID HANDLE RETAINING MEMBER INCLUDING MEANS PREVENTING SAID SLIDABLE HANDLE FROM COMING INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH SAID STRUCTURALLY WEAKENED PORTION, SAID HANDLE BEING SLIDABLY RETAINED WITHIN SAID MEMBER, SAID MEMBER HAVING MEANS DEFINING A HANDLE RECEIVING OPENING THEREIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID HANDLE RECEIVING OPENING IN SAID CARRIER AND SAID HANDLE HAVING PORTIONS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS IN SAID CARRIER AND SAID MEMBER, SAID HANDLE BEING MOVABLE THROUGH SAID OPENINGS FROM AN INOPERATIVE POSITION TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION, WHEREIN SAID TOP HAS TEAR MEANS INCLUDING A LONGITUDINAL LINE OF WEAKNESS AND TRANSVERSE LINES OF WEAKNESS, SAID LONGITUDINAL LINE OF WEAKNESS EXTENDING ACROSS THE CENTER OF SAID TOP, SAID TRANSVERSE LINES OF WEAKNESS EXTENDING ALONG THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID TOP, SAID LONGITUDINAL LINE OF WEAKNESS AND SAID TRANSVERSE LINES OF WEAKNESS BEING CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AND SAID HANDLE-RETAINING PORTIONS BEING SPACED FROM THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TOP AND DIRECTLY BENEATH SAID LONGITUDINAL LINE OF WEAKNESS. 